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Marsha Cook

South Beach Condos

South Beach is the section of Miami Beach, Florida that encompasses the southernmost 23 blocks of an island separating the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, thanks to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, John S. Collins, and others. The area has gone through numerous man-made and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and the 1926 hurricane, which destroyed much of the area. Tonight, the South Beach section of Miami Beach is a major entertainment destination with hundreds of nightclubs, restaurants and boutique hotels. The area is popular with both American and international tourists, with German being the third most spoken language after English and Spanish. The large number of European tourists explains South Beach's tolerance of topless sunbathing, despite being a public beach.There are several residential neighborhoods in South Beach. The old stereotype of South Beach as a run-down retirement mecca for seniors is exploited in the Hollywood movie The Crew which starred Richard Dreyfuss and Burt Reynolds. In its early existence, Jews were not allowed to live north of Fifth Street, thus the area became known as SoFi (South of Fifth.) Today much has changed. This same area (SoFi) boasts many of the most affluent and exclusive condominium buildings ever to be built on Miami Beach. In fact SoFi, this relatively small area, now accounts for nearly 18% of the residential tax base for all of Miami Beach due to its high property values. The glittering glass towers of the area include the large resort-like condominium buildings such as Portofino Tower and sister buildings such as ICON (spearheaded by designer Philippe Starck), Murano at Portofino, Murano Grande at Portofino, The Apogee, and The Continuum buildings (I and II). Now the hotspot encompasses the area from the Atlantic ocean east to Biscayne Bay on the west, and from Fifth Street to the South Pointe Park. Although mostly residential, the area has some light commercial (mainly restaurants, a few hotels and the Miami Beach Marina complex). This area has several notable nightlife destinations, including Opium Garden, Priva©, Nikki Beach Club, and Pearl. It also has several smaller, upscale bars and restaurants, including Joe's Stone Crabs, Smith & Wollensky's steak house, and China Grill. South Beach is also home to two schools in the area; Miami Beach High School and South Pointe Elementary. Flamingo Park is the neighborhood directly north of Fifth and expands from Alton Road on the west to Washington Avenue on the east, with its northern boundary being Lincoln Road; it does not include Lenox. This area consists mainly of low rise apartment buildings, with commercial development largely limited to Alton Road, Washington Avenue, and Lincoln Road. Presently, there is little notable nightlife, with the exception of Tantra on 15th Street. It is also home to Flamingo Park, one of South Beach's public parks, which includes recreational facilities such as tennis, racketball and basketball courts. Flamingo West is a neighborhood of single family homes that spans from north of the Park to Lincoln Road on Lennox and Michigan Avenues. Collins Park is South Beach's most "up and coming" neighborhood, according to the Miami New Times. The newspaper cites the new Sanctuary Spa Resort, an updated public library, and several open projects as evidence for its claim. Collins Park is contained by 17th Street to the south, 23rd Street to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Washington Avenue/Pinetree Drive to the west. It is directly across from the Miami Beach Convention Center. Collins Park consists mainly of low rise art deco buildings built in the 1930s and 1950s; it is also the location of the Bass Museum of Art. The area is currently undergoing gentrification, as many of the old apartments from the 1980s (many of which still have bars on their windows) are being purchased by major New York and South Florida real estate developers to be converted into condominiums. Additionally, many high-rise buildings are located along Bay Road and West Avenue, and there are multifamily residences located north of Lincoln Road and east of Collins Park. The Flamingo, the world's largest apartment complex, is located on Bay Road.